Author

60 Days Of Meat European Vacation: Week 4 Complete

60 Days Of Meat Goes To Germany

This week, 60 Days of Meat has been on another adventure and left the UK behind. Traveling across land and sea, to arrive in the place they call Germany. It’s been an interesting and frustrating week food wise. But before we go into detail, lets take a look at this weeks stats:

End of Week 4 Stats:

Weight: 180lbs

Belly Circumference: 41 inches

Blood Pressure: 125/77

Flatulence Levels: Slight Wimperings

This week I’ve hit an exciting point in weight loss. I’ve lost 16 lbs from when I started out on this adventure. Just over a stone in weight! Simply outstanding. I’m quite flabbergasted about the difference this diet has made. A nice steady weight-loss week by week, all without having to worry about measuring how many calories I eat. I simply eat when I feel the need eat, to the feeling of being full.

The only thing I occasionally monitor is the amount of carbs in certain foods, often foods with sauces. For instance tinned mackerel in tomato sauce contains 3.4g of carbs per 100g, whereas tinned mackerel in brine is <0.1g of carbs per 100g. Henceforth the mackerel in tomato sauce becomes a treat in order to keep carbs at below 20 grams, and on most days as close to 0 as possible.

After 4 weeks of doing this, it is becoming evident that this type of diet confuses the hell out of people. It’s almost as if it’s a taboo. A diet you shouldn’t do because some people are under the impression it’s bad for you. We are told we should eat balanced diets full of micro and macro-nutrients, vitamins named after every letter in the alphabet. There are people telling us to eat plants, or eat fruit, blend your food and start drinking shakes, join a club and look at the labels on every item you pick up. It’s all confusing, conflicting, and crazily hard work. But just eating meat, that’s simple enough, but is it healthy? Is anything healthy?

I admit, I was a little skeptical about it myself when I first heard of low carb/zero carb diets consisting of just meat. It goes against the grain (no pun intended). However, I came into this with an open mind, and an unbiased view. I care not for nutritional values, I care not for counting my calories, I am not and never will be a foodie type person. But you know what. So far, I’m eating almost solely a meat diet and I feel bloody fantastic. I have not felt this healthy for a long time. I’ve stopped snoring, my teeth are whiter, I’m losing weight, I have more energy, I’m in less pain with my joints and body than I used to be and I’m feeling quite at one with myself.

My body has been reset and recharged. So yes, for me, this diet is healthy! My son even looked at me today and said:

“Dad, why do you look so young?”

For others? I don’t know, everyone is different. The only way to find out would be to give it a try.

I’ve also been asked on a few occasions what I have been eating on a daily basis. It is quite simple really, so I will give a brief rundown of what goes on.

Breakfast:

Eggs and bacon, sometimes a sausage or black pudding (only at the weekend, no breakfast during the week)

Lunch:

Leftovers from the previous nights meal. If not then usually mackerel/sardines in a tin. Ready to eat chicken legs or whatever meat I can grab from the super market.

Dinner:

Meat, any type of meat; lamb, chicken, beef, fish, or pork. Sometimes with a little cheese just to give another flavour.

Nibbles:

Pork scratchings, a gherkin at times (again for a different flavour) Nibbles don’t really happen though, as there is never really a hunger for food. If there is, there is no urgent rush to eat something right away.

Drinks:

Water, of the sparkling variety. I used to be a Diet Coke and Pepsi Max freak, but now I try to stick to water, only treating myself once or twice a week to the pop. I do have coffee, but have cut myself back to at most 3 cups a day, with a little cream, or milk. Alcohol wise, everybody loves a drop of gin on a Friday night!

Really you can’t get any simpler than that. It suits me down to a T, because it is so easy to do. It does get a little bland and boring at times, but essentially we are eating for energy not for fun, so it suffices.

Weekly Overview

This week I have been away on holiday to Germany. It’s a regular jaunt as I have family that reside there. The trek is long, starting with a 4 hour drive to get to the ferry, a 9 hour ferry ride to land at the Hook of Holland and from there, another 6 hour drive across to the eastern side of Germany.

I knew that the trip to Germany would be challenging. A different country where the extent of my language skills is minimal. I can just about say “Hallo” … ok realistically I can stretch to “sprechen sie englisch?” If the person in question doesn’t, then I’m pretty much buggered! In my smoking days, I once taught myself how to ask for a packet of 20 cigarettes. I was quite proud of myself for remembering it off by heart and was excited to put it in to practice. Of course, when I did get the chance to recite this one line to the cashier I neglected to realise that they only sold cigarettes in packets of 19 or 24. My efforts were in vain. What the cashier said to me after that I couldn’t tell you, but I stood there blankly looking at her and scratching my head, wondering what the hell she just said. I babbled out a slightly panicked one-word reply; “English?”

The initial travelling over there was quite easy. The ferry was overnight so all that was needed was a little sleep in our cabins. Once back on the road, motorway services provided us with the delights of a McDonalds. What is awesome about McDonalds is that they now have these automated screens. You can order without talking to anyone. You can even get rid of the bun! So the first thing I did when visiting another country was visit a McDonalds for a bun-less sausage and egg mcmuffin. That my friends, is the height of adventure.

So the rest of the week was okay, while staying at my family members residence. Problems though became apparent when we ventured out and wanted food. Finding anything to eat just meat-wise apart from a Bratwurst seemed almost impossible. Unless you wanted a sausage of pork, it was a struggle. As for trying to resist some of the marvelous food out there, baked bread for instance, which smelled divine, was a battle of wills. I made a mistake of not eating much one morning, come afternoon whilst walking around town I was hungry. In fact, walking past endless food stores offering noodles, baked goods and all things sugar & spice. I became close to caving in. I was on holiday and I was denying myself some wonderful German treats. So many gorgeous foods to devour, yet I wasn’t letting myself enjoy them. It was so frustrating, annoying and I began getting pissed of with this diet of meat. I guess this is one of the drawbacks of being a meat eater, it’s not really catered for on the street, meals usually consist of carbs and sugar.

In the end I compromised a little and bought some curry-wurst. Now the sauce no doubt did contain some sugar, but something had to give on this occasion. I’ll also admit that I did have some Engels (German lager) the night before. It is worthy of note, that after this, my stomach seemed to become a little delicate. It was as if my body was rejecting what I had put into it. To be honest, I think I did incredibly well not to eat something that was full of carbs.

From that experience I can learn, once again, that the 6 P’s would have saved me from this situation. Proper preparation would have prevented piss poor performance!

Putting that aside, the holiday continued on. Breakfasts were made up of a selection of meats and cheese, and by the end of the week there was a fantastic meaty barbecue, including wood-smoked steak topped with a little cheese.

I hope you have enjoyed this weeks blogs update, and I shall look forward to writing another update next week. There’s another challenge ahead. 60 Days Of Meat will be venturing to Cornwall for a camping holiday, where I shall try not to succumb to the famous Pasty!

See you soon and don’t forget, if you are enjoying the blog, then share it about and don’t forget you can follow by email, Facebook and Twitter:

Facebook:

Twitter

Enjoying My Writing?

Vasular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: The Journey Begins

Veds: The Journey Begins Cover

In one single moment, everything can change. What lurks inside the deepest depths of David Malarky threatens his entire existence….

Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: The Journey Begins charts the story of David Malarky as he uncovers a truth that has gone undetected in his family for generations. An unknown monster with the power to take a life in the blink of an eye.

As David unmasks the savage beast within, he must come to terms with the consequences of being diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder. With little help and little hope, he must overcome and fight back in the challenge to stay alive.

The journey begins…..

Available to purchase in e-book and paperback format through Amazon:

Also available in many other countries. Check your local Amazon for details.

“A fog had swirled its way into my brain,clouding my vision, wrapping itself around my thoughts. I knew what was going on, but I couldn’t grasp the reality of it all. Here we sat, in this room, five people, discussing the dark demon that flows through us. Something that had been with us all our lives, hiding in the shadows, silently waiting, striking out at us, causing pain and despair through-out generations of our family.

Now we know you demon, now you have a face. Fear, confusion, chaos. Your are my one true enemy. I Can’t run from you, I can’t hide from you, for you lie within the confines of my very own body” ~excerpt from Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome: The Journey Begins

“This was a book that I could not put down! I had expected a pretty dry, not very interesting, account of life..a boring time-line of living. How wrong I was. The narrative went back and forth, drawing the reader in to learn more. This was also an account of discovery, and consequences. The writer skilfully weaves his words so that you eagerly read more. Highly recommended!” ~Amazon customer

“I loved this book from start to finish! As well as providing a clever, detailed insight into what happens emotionally to individuals who have bad news broken to them, it is a heartwarming story that makes humour from difficult situations both medically and personally and an insight into the family dynamics that are set in motion when terrible circumstances invade. Very well done Mr Malarky!” ~Amazon customer